[7.4/10] Not to beat this drum yet again, but I like this show best when it’s the adventures of Aziraphale and Crowley, and this one put them on the backburner. Still, there was enough to enjoy here to make things worthwhile.
For one, I’m actually on board with what’s going with Adam. I like the idea that he can make things real just by sort of willing them into existence, and with the mental influence of Anathema’s conspiracy magazines, that means the rise of Atlantis, and spying Tibetan monks, and friendly alien constables. It’s a bit of a hard shift from that to him deciding to remake the world with his three friends as captives, but there’s at least a bit of genuine scariness to that.
I’m less on board with Pulcifer and Anathema meeting and then nigh-instantly going into the throes of passion, but whatever. Shadwell realizing that he’s put Pulcifer in danger, and Queenie giving him bus fare and enough for a coffee and a snack is a kind of cute response to all of it.
And what we do get of Aziraphale and Crowley is pretty good! The “old couple having a tiff” routine between them is particularly enjoyable (especially with the random bystander telling Aziraphale that he’s been there and “you’re better off without him”). Aziraphale being roughed up by his fellow angels, and his mounting dissatisfaction with the way things are going is intriguing, and it being enough for him to utter a curse-word when being accidentally shuffled off to Heaven is a neat development.
I particularly like Crowley’s caper here too. Using Home Alone tactics to defeat his foes with holy water is a nice touch, and while a little cornball, the chase in the space between atoms has a bit of verve to it as well. But I particularly like his little breakdown before that. The discussions about being punished for asking questions, about testing but not to the point of oblivion, are pointed and sharp.
I also enjoy the introductions of Pollution and Death, and the shading given to the delivery man. His preternatural devotion to his otherwise mundane task is great, especially his “ours is not to know why” approach to it. There’s even some legitimate pathos when he writes an “I love you” note to his wife before taking the grim step toward delivering a message to death.
Otherwise, it’s interesting to see the show pulling the trigger on Armageddon with two episodes to go still. Bits like Heaven seeming as interested in the fight as in preventing it, Crowley wanting to run away to Alpha Centauri, and Adam’s view on remaking the world in his own image all have some juice and intrigue to them that makes me curious to know what happens next.
“Things on the Internet can be made up. These are MAGAZINES!”
HASTUR LA VISTA
we love our softie angel....
How come Crowley was able to get out of the tape in the voicemail recorder, but Hastur wasn't?
I will say as much as I love Good Omens I don't think I'll ever really understand the Newton Anathema relationship. Honestly, I think you could write excellent fic exploring Anathema's relationship with comp-het through the prophecies. but played straight (pun intended) it simply doesn't make much emotional sense.
Adam and the Them were brilliant in this ep. I'll always be stunned by the intensity and fear these child actors evoked in their performances. I especially love how Adam's apocalypse really feels filtered through the mind of an 11 year old.
I will say this rewatch is just further proving that Gomens season 2 is a retread of character beats. Especially Aziraphale's arc. This episode literally sees him talk to Metatron who says the point is war and we SEE him process the fact that every authority in heaven doesn't care about human lives. So the idea that he could trust Metatron so nakedly after this ordeal is incredulous.
Rewatch (s2 spoilers):
- aziraphale's "I forgive you" as a reaction to arguments is going to come back to bite him
- crowley coming back to get aziraphale to run away to alpha centauri
-I think the newt/anathema plot line kinds falls flat here because the story doesn't invest enough time to making her professional descendant/controlled by Agnes's plans vs free will/the ineffability of it all story make sense. Which is fine because the aziraphale crowley story is a lot more interesting
- in s2 aziraphale goes through the whole believing heaven is good and can be fixed again with metatron... I get that it's a retread of the same revelations but also being stuck in a loop and wanting to believe beings/organisations are better despite no evidence of it feels very true to life
What does a man and woman who've met minutes ago do in an amazon prime series? Well they fuck, obviously.
so exciting!!
first time i watched i hated the Adam scene it was really frustrating, but now i get why it’s important to the prophecy so i forgive him
I still hate the under the bed part it was pretty gross lol
Shout by chloeBlockedParent2019-06-02T19:09:24Z
aziraphale's "i'm soft" ...... love my soft angel son